Does using an expired parking sticker bring an extra fine?

Q: Sometimes I use an expired parking pay station receipt, betting the meter reader will only glance at my receipt and not give me a parking ticket.

My co-worker insists that while that’s not only a bad gamble, I could also get a ticket for trying to deceive a parking enforcement officer. Is that true?

A: It depends on what you do to the expired parking pay station receipt.

If you alter the receipt, that qualifies as illegal use under the Seattle Municipal Code – and carries a $38 fine. That could be in addition to a $35 fine for parking overtime at a meter or a similar parking violation for not paying the additional parking fee.

The illegal use code is the same that makes it unlawful for people to use buttons or slugs to try and rig the pay stations. Though the wording was written in 1979 – decades before the current digital parking pay stations were installed.

Here’s the full text:

No person shall tamper with or open any parking payment device,
deposit or cause to be deposited in any parking payment device any
slug, button or any other device or substance as substitutes for legal
tender of the United States, or counterfeit or alter any parking pay
station receipt.

Thanks to the people who submitted questions. Previous answers are linked below.